Monday, September 28, 2015

#10 of 36: Reading a Tour de Force, a Review of Smaller and Smaller Circles by F. H. Batacan

I think this is a tour de force by F.H. Batacan. I read this as an assignment for a writing workshop (still for October) called #HeistClub (crime writing). I was really blown away by this book. The author made a serial killer entirely plausible in this book while exploring all that's wrong in Philippine society. All the characters were strong and believable and I was moved to tears several times, especially when Batacan described the families of Payatas. It's all too true and the book brims with the author's palpable anger. This is one of those books that's un-put-down-able. If I get only a smidgen of Batacan's storytelling powers, I think I'll be able to write a decent crime story. I bought both the Kindle version of the book (pre-ordered) and the print version. It's that good. I hope to read more stories with Fr. Gus Saenz (it was nice seeing him again in Manila Noir) and Fr. Jerome Lucero. Or just more stories from F. H. Batacan.

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Bayawak's Trail available on buqo.ph and Amazon.com

Marian Malabanan is an anthropology graduate student who just wants to study Manobo folklore when she becomes embroiled in a murder (or what she considers an assassination) and the Manobos’ struggle with a paramilitary group in the hinterlands of Surigao del Sur.

Far away from friends and family, she can only rely on a few people: her host, a local congresswoman, Marilou Mamaril, and the mysterious Gregoire Durant, photographer and fellow anthropologist, who helps her navigate the dangerous minefield of Lumad ancestral lands by advising her to keep quiet. Can Marian figure out who was really behind the murder and live to tell her story? Or will her headstrong nature get her buried alongside the murder victims?

The Mermaid from Siquijor available on buqo.ph and Amazon.com

Lorie Cenas gets invited to go on a diving trip to Siquijor, an island famed for its connection to the supernatural, to heal from a broken heart. She accepts but her friend doesn’t know that Lorie has a secret: she already has a deep connection to the island, the place where her mother died a long time ago.

There, she meets Marceau Egasse, a French diver and marine ecologist, who is passionate about the ocean but skeptical about the island’s mystic powers; and Elena, a mysterious island woman, who has secrets of her own.

Elena wants something from Lorie that she is not willing to give up. Will Lorie heal wounds from her past in Siquijor? Will she find love and a kindred spirit? Or is the island a maelstrom that will consume her, just like it did her mother?

A Portrait of Jade Available on buqo, Kobo, Kindle, and iBookstore

Jade Alverio is dying to get to summer art camp in Baguio, far away from her demanding parents and her ultra-perfect sister, Ruby. She thinks it will be a haven of likeminded spirits until she gets her first critique from Alexander Santamaria III, who seems to have converted all female camp members into his groupies.

Things get worse when she's paired up with him on a major project. Will she survive dream-turned-nightmare art camp, or will she go running back home, the very place she wanted to escape in the first place?

About Me

My mother named me after a character in the Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell. I claim my literary heritage by writing. Everyday poetry, Poetry for every day. For as long as there's a poem or a story in me, I will vow to share it.